Playing Second
by Wespe
Summary: A story of trial in the life of Vinyl and Octavia as they travel to Canterlot for the annual "Dance of the Tulips".
1. An Excellent Day

**This is my first attempt at a "My Little Pony" fanfiction. The idea belongs entirely to my Beloved, to whom this is dedicated to. I hope you enjoy it. **

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It was a peaceful morning in Ponyville. The birds were chirping as the sun rose steadily over the horizon. Within the small, quaint apartment that she shared, a cellist peacefully slumbered within her bed, covered with chocolate-colored sheets. The electric clock next to her bed read in bright green letters: '6:59'. Seconds later, the lights showed seven o'clock and the alarm clock started to bleep. It was then the sleeping pony suddenly sprang from her bed where she lay and hopped to the hoofs in an instant. "Finally!" She squealed gleefully.

She jumped across the cold, wooden floor; half-dressed in sleeping attire, which was nothing more than a tank-top and panties, and raced to the windows. She twisted open the Venetian blinds, and an ocean of sunlight flooded into the darkness of her solitude to reveal an organized, if not slightly austere bedroom. As she gazed at the sights of the city' below, the gray pony took a deep breath, inhaling the majesty of what was certain to be a day that would surely be worth remembering for years to come. "This is going to be a great day!" she exclaimed.

Without another moment, Octavia raced out of her room and down the hall-way to the second door on the right. She eagerly admitted herself, not waiting a second before opening the door to reveal the dwelling of her roommate: Vinyl Scratch.

Old and discarded clothes littered the floor in the shrouded darkness of the barely perceivable depths of the room, with an assortment of CD's covering the rest of the floor. Dotting the walls were lazily patched posters of famous rock-bands and more modern dub-step groups, as well as various odd and amusing bits of music memorabilia that she had collected from her career as a DJ. In the center of all this, though, lay Vinyl, bundled in an unmade blanket on the bed with her head buried underneath a purple pillow, gently snoring.

Octavia jumped on the bed, causing her friend to spring from her place. "Get up sleepy head! Today's the day! It' seven o'clock and that means it's time to get up!"

Vinyl grumbled as she turned away. "Yeah yeah yeah" she said, "Just a few more...minutes..."

"No!" Octavia squealed happily. "Gotta get up now!"

"Ugh...fuggit! You know that alarm clock is a damn liar!" Vinyl said irritated. It was always an unstated rule that Vinyl was not be disturbed before two in the afternoon. Octavia normally obliged her, but it was only on this very occasion that Octavia decided to disturb her from her deep-seated slumber so early.

"Come on Vinyl!" she said tugging her, "You promised!"

She got up, rubbing her eyes while reaching for her violet shades that hung on a nail above her. "Why are you so excited?"

"I dunno." she said snuggling next to her best friend. "It's just the biggest concert ever tonight. Playing for royalty, you know, the important people."

"Is it tonight? Man how time flies! But that's tonight. Can't we rest some more now?" she said eagerly pulling the sheets to her neck.

"No" she whispered in her ears, "I wanted to show you the Royal Music Museum though before that though."

"You mean the one with all that fancy-schmancy music?"

"Uh-huh.."

"That kind of music sort of cramps my style...you know?" In truth, Vinyl was not unfamiliar with it. She had been classically trained as a violinist in her youth.

Her mother had eagerly paid to give her lessons since she was three years old hoping she would become the next filly-prodigy of the musical world. Though she was talented enough, Vinyl despised the violin and never much cared for it or any instrument, for that matter. During lessons, she would often purposely play wrong keys to cause an ungodly screech, just to cause a disruption, and a whole host of other antics to torture her poor musical instructor.

At fifteen, she abandoned them altogether to pursue her true passion: bass and improvisation. Thus, her mother's dream of her daughter being a violinist died, beaten and abused in the ditch by the road-way of life. If there was anything good to come from these lessons was the fact she had met a certain cellist who would later become the present annoyance that was digging into her sides.

"Well" she said contentedly pleased, "I guess I'll have to broaden your horizons then. Trust me, you'll love it"

"Oh Tavi, always trying to change me. Something gives me a hunch though I'm going to this place, whether I want to or not, aren't I?"

"Mmmhmmm." she said closing he eyes as she touched Vinyl's hoof.

"Alright, fine." Vinyl said getting up, "But only because your my bestest friend in the whole world."

"Thanks" Octavia said smiling. "That means a lot to me Vinyl."

"Meh, pleasing other ponies is what I do." she said walking toward the door. "Now!" she said stretching "Would you be so kind as to leave so I can get dressed."

Octavia looked down at herself and realized that she wasn't dressed yet either, causing to her to blush a little. She had never thrown that much caution to the wind before, and in the heat of the moment, had forgotten it.

"Well?" she asked again, "I'm going to change whether you're here or not, so are you going?"

"Alright, I'm going." she replied, "And try to wear something appropriate will you Vinyl, dear" she said in the poshest accent she could mimic, "I don't think they'll find your 'Buck you' t-shirt appropriate."

"Ha! I'm the sweetest mare they'll ever meet." she said as started looking through her closet.

Octavia giggled. They had obviously never seen her upset then. As much as she hated to say it, Vinyl were almost the perfect match for each other, like a hand to a glove. Even if they didn't always agree on everything, they could always make each other laugh. "Alright then, see you in a few minutes." With that she closed the door and skipped down the hall-way to begin the morning ritual of dressing.

Vinyl eagerly picked up one of her favorite CD's from its place on the floor and threw it in her stereo-set hooked up to two large bass speakers. A roaring rhythm rocked the room as she discarded her old clothes into one of the convenient piles. "Yeah!" she yelled as she stood stark naked in her room, looking through her clothes while jamming to the music all the while.

Meanwhile, in Octavia's room, she was already fully dressed and combing the knots out of her hair at the mirror across from her bed with the sounds of serenading flutes playing over the radio. Octavia looked into the mirror smiling, ignoring the thundering bass in the other room that was shaking the foundations of the apartment. "I like myself." she said staring into her reflection. "I'm a smart, beautiful, sophisticated pony with a lot to offer." She paused a moment to let the words sink in before stating again "I like myself."

She put her hoof on her forehead. "Some might call it vanity, I call it creating a positive image of myself. Cause, who's the best cellist in town?"

"I am!" she replied to herself.

"Who's gonna impress the princess tonight?"

"I am!"

"Who's gotta quit talking to herself like this?"

"I will!"

"That's right! Now go show the world you're not insane!"

"I'll try my best! Excelsior!" With that she propelled herself out the door once again but down-stairs to the kitchen. "This is going to be a great day!" Those words would be a hard echo of events to come, as Octavia would soon find out.


	2. In the Wilderness

The bus stop that morning was empty. Not a single soul was to be seen except the two friends sitting underneath the shelter. "Why do we have to take the bus again?" Vinyl asked.

"Because the express train is running late and this is the next fastest way" Octavia replied.

"Not much of an express then, is it?"

Octavia rolled her eyes. "Did you pick something nice to wear tonight?"

"Heck yeah!" she exclaimed taking her brown brief-case between her legs. "Check this out!"

"That's alright Vinyl," Octavia said motioning, "I'm sure you picked something appropriate."

"Oh" she said with a bit of disappointment as she put down the suitcase. "Well, I'm glad you trust me for once. Most of the time you seem to act like I'm going to dress like a maniac."

"Your are a maniac," she stated plainly.

"Not true. A real maniac dresses like everyone else, that's why you never see them coming. I'm a decent maniac; I dress crazily so you know what to expect beforehand."

Octavia giggled a bit to herself. "I just want you to look your best. We're going to be before royalty, you know?"

"What is this anyway? A party? 'Cause if it is, I got some kicking jams I've been wanting to try."

"No, it's more like a soiree. It's the royal commemoration of the 'Dance of the Tulips'. It's a get-together for all the elites of Equestria to enjoy the royal gardens and I will be doing a cello performance for the princess." She paused a moment to mediate on those words, inhaling them like the fresh aroma of a sweetly-scented perfume. "A cello performance for the princess!" she squealed excitedly. "What happiness! What sublimity! What passion in the musical..."

"Alright, alright, I got ya," Vinyl said trying to calm her. "Does this gig pay?"

"Goodness no! Just to have the undivided attention of the princess and her entourage is reward enough. This is going to be the greatest night of my life!"

"If you say so, Tavi."

It was at that moment that the bus pulled up to the stop. The bellowing engine roared furiously as a plume of black exhaust shot from its tail. A hiss of the brakes and the behemoth came to a grinding halt. The doors slowly slid open from its place and the two friends gathered their suitcases to board.

As the two climbed the steep steps, they were greeted by an peculiar sight. Sitting behind the wheel was an overweight pony around his mid-forties with a head that was completely bald and his brow looked beaten and heavy with small, beady eyes protruding beneath them. Upon those huge, flabby cheeks was loose scraggly stubble that covered the breadth of his face from ear to ear. With a cigar in the side of his mouth and a gut to challenge any beer-drinker, he lay slouched atop his leather-finished perch like some sort of magnificent captain guiding his ship across a treacherous sea of tar and asphalt.

"How ya' doing?" he said in a gruff voice as Vinyl walked past.

"Sup'" she said passing him.

When Octavia reached the top of the steps of the vehicle the driver stopped her with his big, brawny arm. "Hey, you wanna know something about me?"

"Uh..."

"I've spent my whole life driving buses; ever since I dropped out of high-school. I've been on old-rattler for twenty years. The things I've seen. My father was a bus-driver too. My whole family has lived and died on a bus."

"Bus driving must run in the family," she said meekly.

"Nah," he replied casually, "The rest died trying to wake up my father."

She stared at him, unsure of what to say. "Is there a reason you're telling me this?"

He shrugged "Not really, just got a few minutes before I gotta leave and I just thought I'd strike up a conversation."

"Well, it was very nice meeting you Mr...?"

"Cyrus. Cyrus P. Montague. My friends call me Monty. You can call me Monty."

"Charmed" she said giving a smile, "Now if you'll excuse me, Monty, my friend is probably wondering where I am."

"Anything you say," he said, and Octavia brushed past him to take her place next to Vinyl near the back of the bus.

"What were you and the bus-driver talking about?" she inquired as Octavia sat beside her.

"Oh…um…yeah, he was telling me about the weather. Lovely weather. Best he's seen in years."

"That's really weird, Tavi."

"You don't know the half of it," Octavia mumbled.

The only two passengers sat on the vehicle quietly in their seats and in a few minutes the bus cranked into gear and slowly pulled away from the station and was soon headed on its way to Canterlot. It was a strange thing traveling on the road, as time went on the scenery seemed to go by in a blur. First by the trees of the Everfree Forest, towering in their majestic heights; then through the meadows, pristine and opulent; then over the hills and dales of the rolling farm-land, past the endless greenery of the plains. All of this was naturally unseen by the two friends as they sat comfortably listening to music on Vinyl's portable media player, and also by the driver, who reflected on the news over his two-way radio.

In an hour of traveling they had passed through the better part of Equestria and were on the out-skirts of the great Paradise Desert – a huge expanse of barren rock and sand that covered a vast distance of ground between Equestria Minor, which is Ponyville and it's adjacent territory, and Equestria Major where Canterlot was located. To reach their destination, they would have to embark through the desert.

To watch from the window of the bus and look out the terrain one could easily think that one was on the moon. Harsh and foreboding shadows stood in stark contrast to the plainness of the rock faces which gave it the feeling of some foreboding twilight in the middle of the sweltering day. Many ponies had perished wandering these lands, trying to trek it's endless expanses into the unknown; a fact not dwelt upon much by those inside of an air-conditioned bus.

It happened all of a sudden. A screech of the brakes, a swirling flash, and then loud 'thud' that wracked the entire vehicle and caused both Vinyl and Octavia to spring from their places as the bus came to an abrupt stop. "What was that!?" Octavia yelled.

"I dunno" said Vinyl, "Must have been one doozy of a pot-hole."

Octavia raced to the front to the front of the bus to the bus-driver who looked as cool as ever. "What happened?"

"Hit something." he said relighting his cigar.

"What did you hit!?"

"Something." he said again shrugging. "No idea what it is, all I know is that I have a flat, and sister, we ain't going nowhere now."

"Aren't you going to check!?"

"In a second." he said puffing. "Probably just a rock or something. No biggie."

Octavia took the initiative into her own hoofs and opened the doors of the bus herself, with Vinyl close behind. When the pair peaked around the edge of the bus they were greeted with a horrible sight. There, on the side of the road, was a pony dressed from head to toe in a scarlet Santa-suit, beard and all, laying upon the ground, groaning in agony.

"Oh Fudge!" Vinyl exclaimed as they both ran to help the man.

"Are you alright!?" Octavia said as she held the man's head.

"No." he replied, his voice hoarse and dry "I need a doctor."

"Why are you out in the middle of the desert in a Santa-suit?" Vinyl asked perplexed and shocked.

"I was hit bad by this recession, almost as bad as I was just hit by that bus. I got a job as a mall-Santa in Canterlot. I also have a gambling problem. Had to pawn everything: my house, my belongings, all of my clothes and I had to flee into the desert to escape my creditors. I've been wandering out here for days with only this suit for warmth during the freezing night."

Vinyl and Octavia stood in shock at the surreal image that was unfolding before them. It was also at that time that the bus-driver decided to come out of the bus to see what all the commotion was about. When he gazed upon the sight that the two ponies had just witnessed he didn't say a word. He stared with a straight face, unwavering as the cigar dropped from his mouth and landed in the sand below him. He took his hat from head and discarded it as well, and slowly started walking down the lone highway.

As Vinyl helped the man, Octavia noticed the bus-driver slowly shrinking into the distance and chased after him. "Hey uh...Monty! Where are you going?"

"I'm washed up kid." he said, "There's no place for me now. This will be my third referral. I'm finished."

"But you can't just leave us out here!" He didn't say another word, merely bowed his head continued walking until he was merely a dot on the horizon and then disappeared.

Octavia walked back to Vinyl, who know had the man propped beneath the shade of a rather large rock protruding at a precarious angle from the ground. "Where's the bus-driver?"

"He's gone."

"Where?"

"He uh...said he was going for help. Yeah..."

"But he has a radio is in the bus, and it was working fine. Couldn't he have just used that?"

"Okay...fine! He's gone!"

"Gone?"

"Gone!"

"Gone where?"

"Celestia knows where, but he wasn't staying."

"What are you saying Tavi?"

"I'm saying we're stuck out here in the middle of Paradise! With no transportation and an unconscious mall-Santa with a gambling problem!" Octavia suddenly became overwhelmed with a tidal-wave of emotions. She felt light headed as the thought of being late to the concert raced through her mind. Her chance of impressing the princess was evaporating before her eyes like the water in the harsh desert around and there was nothing she could to do to stop it. She swooned and then collapsed next to the bus and bawled her head into arms which were propped on her knees. "This is not what I wanted at all!"

Vinyl approached her friend and sat beside her as she silently wept. "Tavi." she said whispered gently.

"No" she groaned, trying to keep her voice from cracking.

"Tavi." she said again, "It'll get better."

"No it won't!" she said, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Yes it will," she replied shushing her. "It will get better. You'll see."

Octavia blew her nose in a handkerchief she produced from her pocket. "I don't see how."

"You can't with those tears in your eyes," she said smiling.

Octavia sniveled a bit at Vinyl wiped away some of the tears. "I guess...you're right."

"Course I am. You'll see. It's gonna be alright. At least we left early right?"

"Yeah..." she said brushing away more tears, "But I don't think we're going to make it before it's time, and I wanted to show you the museum too."

"The museum will always be there. We just have to think positive."

"Oh Vinyl, that's a nice thought, but I don't think the answer to our problems is just going to come flying out of the blue."

It was then that a strange thing occurred. "What is that?" Vinyl said squinting.

From out of the blue, beyond the clouds, a strange bird-like creature seemed to be descending to earth. As it drew closer, it became clear that it wasn't a bird at all, but some sort of contraption with two winged propellers mounted on fixtures above a large canvased wing,which were being propelled by two ponies on a row of four bicycle seats. "What ho, brother of mine! It seems like we've come across some ponies in distress! Shall we lower to get a closer look?"

"By all means brother!"

With that the great machine fell in altitude and gracefully landed next to the bus and the two vanilla colored ponies dismounted. "You ponies look like you're in a jam." the mustachioed pony said.

"Hey..." Octavia said getting up, "I know you two...you're the traveling sales-ponies who sold that dreck cider!"

"Uh uh uh, former sales-ponies," the clean-shaven one corrected.

Vinyl interrupted him, "Wait, so who are you guys?"

"He's Flim!"

"He's Flam!"

"We're the world famous Flim-Flam brothers!" they said together.

"More like infamous," Octavia mumbled to herself.

"Nice to make you acquaintance." Flam said garbing Vinyl's hoof and gently kissing it, "But the honor is all mine."

Vinyl blushed, "These guys aren't half bad."

"Don't listen to them, they're nothing but a bunch of con-men." Octavia warned.

"Au contraire," Flim said "You do us a great injustice madam. An injustice that fails to grasp the breadth and genius of our endeavors."

"So what is this thing?" Vinyl asked.

"Ah! You must mean this fine piece of engineering that stands behind us." Flam said, "Let me introduce you to our latest and greatest invention: The Flim-Flam Flier!"

"Yes," Flim stepped in, "After our little cider debacle went down the proverbial tube, so to speak, we decided to pursue the problem which has vexed earth-ponies since to immemorial: how to fly without wings. After months of tinkering and designs we finally invented this machine that will allow you to fly. A flying machine!"

"I like it call it an aeroplane." Flam chimed in.

"Using a minimum power of two horses (or horsepower as well like to call it), one can levitate oneself into the air like any pegasus or bird." Flim continued, "We intend to patent this fine machine and sell it to all ponies! We're going to change history!"

"So this works?" Vinyl asked curiously.

"Works?" Flam asked slighty aghast."It doesn't just work, it flies!"

"Perhaps you two fine ponies would care to join us on our way to Canterlot?"

It was then that Vinyl pulled Octavia aside and whispered to her. "See? The answer to our problem's is right here!"

"I don't know." Octavia said eying them, "I don't trust them."

"They're our only way out of this place."

"But they're con-men! Thieving rascals! No telling what they will do!"

"You're the one who wanted to go to Canterlot!"

"But not with them!"

Flim cleared his throat. "If you want to stay here, that's also fine. We just thought we'd lend a helping hand."

"No, we'll come, won't we Octavia?" Vinyl said nudging her.

"Yeah, I guess." Octavia said.

"But we do have him to worry about." Vinyl said pointing to the nearly unconscious mall-Santa.

"Good lord!" Flam exclaimed, "What happened to him?"

"We accidentally ran him over," Octavia said.

"You?"

"Well, the bus-driver."

"And where is he?"

"Who knows, he started walking."

"Well that sounds dreadful," Flim said.

"He needs medical attention." Octavia stated.

"Well, we'll have to get him some then,won't we? We can lay him across the wing-span, though it will take all four of us to carry the weight."

"Vinyl," Octavia said nudging her, "See if you get him up a bit so we can load him."

Vinyl approached the man underneath the rock. "Sir?"

"Yes?"

"We're going to get you help."

"Oh thank sweet Celestia."

"We're going to take you back to Canterlot-"

"No!" he yelled furiously, "I can't go back! Never go back! I'll be a dead man for sure!"

"Why?" Vinyl asked not comprehending his delirium.

"My creditors! They'll kill me! I'm not going back!"

"But you have to come back, you'll die out here if you don't."

"No! I can't go back! Never!" He started shaking violently.

Vinyl returned to the group by the bus, "He say's he won't go."

"What do you mean?" Octavia said cocking her eyebrow.

"He won't, he fears for his own life. Says there are people who would want to kill him."

"The old boy's delirious." Flam said.

"Quite," Flim stated, "But being out in the desert in a Santa-suit would do that to anyone, wouldn't it?"

"I suppose so." Octavia said.

"There's only one solution for this. Flam, do you have the Spider?"

"I do indeed."

"Hand it here please."

Flam went back to the flier and brought back a cast-iron frying-pan. "Ah, good. Nothing to sedate you like mother's cooking."

"If only she was that good of a cook."

They both chortled loudly as Flim proceeded to walk toward the man near the rock.

"Wait, you're not going to hurt him are you?" Vinyl asked.

"You two should gather your belongings," Flam said motioning to them.

"Alright then." Vinyl said, "What about him?"

"My brother has it under control." At that time a loud 'clang' was heard and then a thud.

"He's sedated!" Flim announced proudly.

"Good brother," Flam said walking to him and grabbing the now unconscious man's legs, "Let's get him on board. There's a good-chap."

In the meantime, Octavia and Vinyl took their placed in the front seats of the flier, their hoofs on the bars and pedals as the brothers mounted the man on the wings and secured him with rope. "There!" Flim said tying the knot firmly, "That ought to hold him."

The two mounted in the rear two bicycles, with Flim manning the ruder to guide the great machine.

"Are you ponies ready for take-off?" Flam said. The two friends nodded their heads. "Alright then, on the count of three, pedal as hard as you can. Ready? One, two, three!"

With that the ponies pushed all their strength into it, pedaling as fast as they could. Soon the propellers started to whir and the machine began to move. "It's working Tavi!" Vinyl yelled over the roar of the air.

"I know!" Octavia said laughing.

In a few moments the great machine had raced down the pavement and had lifted into the air, and soon the ponies were soon flying on their way to Canterlot.


	3. Arrival

**Sorry for everyone for taking so long to update. Been busy with a lot of things lately. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy ^_^**

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The wind was brisk and the sky was clear of the Great Paradise Desert. Far above its foreboding rocks and endless sand a great mass of canvas and steel majestically floated over the scenery below; its mighty wings fluttering in a cool, northern breeze. Aboard the machine, four ponies busily peddled on, propelling them ever closer to their destination.

"Will we get to Canterlot soon?" Octavia asked.

The clean-shaven pony at the rudder looked down at the gauges that littered a control panel mounted on the stem of his handle-bars. "Well, let me see...four ponies times…" He trailed into a systematic mumbling of equations and measurements, tediously working the numbers within his head while not neglecting to continue peddling. "…considering a wind speed of 16 knots…pretty soon!"

"Gee, that sure is helpful." Octavia replied, rolling her eyes.

"Don't sweat it Tavi," Vinyl said waving her hoof, "we'll get there in time. Then we can look through that museum all we want."

"It's not that," Octavia replied, "I'm more concerned about him." She pointed to the unconscious Santa-pony strapped to the wing brace of the flying-machine.

"No worries my dear," Flam said, "When we get to Canterlot, we'll take him straight to the hospital." The mustachioed pony leaned close to his brother and whispered, "But not before we make an exhibition the city will never forget." Flim nodded his approval as they continued speedily on.

"Uh...Vinyl," Octavia said nudging her friend.

"Yeah?"

"I'm...sorry for how I behaved back there. I don't know what came over me. It was just...I can't describe it. It was as if everything was gone."

"It's okay," Vinyl said smiling, "If something like that happened to me, I'd probably do the same thing. Besides, you always got me, right? And I promise, I'll never leave."

Octavia smiled, "You truly are one my best friends."

"What are friends for, right? Speaking of which, do you have something to eat? I'm starving..."

"What does food have to do with friendship?" Octavia asked perplexed.

"Fries of a feather, fly together." Vinyl said with a huge grin on her face.

"Hardy-har-har. You're so punny."

All of a sudden, from the midst of the clouds, strange shapes started to take shape. First, they started of as specks, mere dots on the horizon of an endless sea, but soon they started to materialize – bigger and bigger, their shapes slowly transformed into crisp objects. "There it is!" Flam cried excitedly, "Canterlot!"

"You sure?" asked Vinyl. "I can't hardly see anything."

"Are you blind, my good woman? There! I can see it plain as daylight! The parapets upon the high walls of the castle! Their stone is as lustrous as ebony! The high-waving banners caught in a crisp wind, hanging from those poles so ornately crafted! Of course its Canterlot!"

"Calm yourself, Brother." Flim said.

"Oh, I'm just so excited!" Flam replied.

"Yeah, me too," chimed Octavia.

"Let's bring her in for a landing then brother."

"Yes brother, let's."

Suddenly the mighty wings twisted and the machine dipped below the clouds to reveal the capital. The city lay shining in magnificent glory upon its mountainside perch, its glorious polished stone gleaming in the bright rays of the sun which lay over it. For a brief-moment, the entire company stood in wide amazement as they stared at the entrancing sight before them, their eyes filled with wonderment and delight.

"Steady as she goes Flam."

"Easy as she comes Flim."

Not once did the great machine fly around the capital, but three times, in total. With each revolution the flying-machine glorified itself upon the Canterlot skies, with each revolution it dazzled all the citizens therein. After the third time, the mighty veil of canvas descended upon an empty court-yard, where it made its final bow, to a thunderous applause by the spectators who had gathered there to see it.

"You hear that Flam!" Flim said grabbing his brother, "They love us!"

"We're a hit brother!'

"Yes, brother, a smash!"

"Ahem." Octavia motioned to the still unconscious lump of holiday cheer still strapped to the wing.

"Oh yes...right." Flam ascended to the top of the platform and stood as far as his hind-legs would let him, so that he towered over the cheering mass of ponies. "Good People of Canterlot!" he announced with all the faculty of his showmanship "We have with us a fellow who needs medical attention! We ask that you clear the way so we may get him to the nearest doctor!"

"I'm a doctor!" a voice from the crowd announced over the screaming mob.

"Who said that?" Flam said peering out.

"I did!" A tan, slender forced his way through the throng, his medical bag in tow.

"And who might you be, my good sir?"

"Allow me to introduce myself: I am Doctor Thaddeus Pleasant, I work at the Royal Medical Hospital. I recognized the pony in your custody immediately. He's an escapee from the insane asylum. A pony who believes he has a gambling problem and that people are out to kill him. He was a new transfer, and we lost him while we were logging him into the system."

"Where did he transfer from?"

"From prison."

"What was he transferred for?"

"Because the judge declared that all ponies who had gambling problems were insane."

"But...wouldn't that mean...?"

"It's best that you don't ask too many questions. I'll take him from here." With that, the good doctor got several burly orderlies to heave the pony up, and they carried him off into the crowd. It was also at that time, that both Vinyl and Octavia had finished unloading their things from the flying-machine.

"Well...lots of comings and goings in life, I suppose." said Flim.

"Ladies, its been an honor and a pleasure. Farewell. Perhaps, we'll see each other again soon." He bowed and kissed Vinyl's hoof again.

They trotted away slowly until they were far down one of the cobbled streets of the capital, far out of distance of the two brothers. "Well, those guys were pretty awesome." Vinyl said.

"Yeah...we're taking the train home." Octavia replied, and both laughed as they strode toward the Royal Palace, where Octavia had been given accommodation.


	4. The Museum

The day was warm and bright when Vinyl and Octavia trotted their way toward the Royal Museum of Music in the middle of Canterlot. The sun shone luminously above the gleaming city terraces and parapets with their many colorful banners flying freely in the breeze. In the middle of a cobbled piazza, close to the Royal Palace, stood the imposing structure of the museum.

All around the great facade, dotted with windows framed in classical style, lay Corinthian pillars of solid granite that seemingly reached to the heights of the heavens above. Around the roof-top was a banister of white marble inlaid with gold and holding mighty ornaments of bronze figures. In the center of the roof, above the main entrance, was a clock that lay in its own stone encasement with carvings of the moon and sun on its left and right, respectively; above it, a single bell beneath a gold weather-vane in the shape of a dove, with two banners flying on either side of it. On the outskirts of the museum were tall, wrought-iron fences, that were supported by stone colonnades, lavishly adorned with carvings of mythical creatures.

It was an awe-inspiring and humbling sight for Vinyl who had never seen it before and gazed in wonderment at its magnificent splendor, but to Octavia, it was an old friend; one she had greeted many times before.

"What do you think?" Octavia said smirking.

Vinyl merely stood there, mouth slighty ajar. "It's huge!" she proclaimed at last.

Octavia chuckled to herself. "It is quite big."

"How long do you think they worked on this?" Vinyl asked as they walked across the court-yard to the entrance on the other-side.

"Oh, many many years, I suppose."

"Centuries?"

"Maybe." Octavia shrugged.

"Wow..."

They entered the open corridor that stretched around the outside of the building and walked past a latched wooden door. Inside, they were greeted by a large, vaulted foyer with a skylight above. On either of the hall were doors bearing signs saying: "Visitors Not Allowed", "Restricted Area", or "Employees Only". Near the far end on the left, there was a blue and white stripped canvas booth with the word: "Admissions" printed in big, bright-red letters. To the side of it was a winding maze of blocking rope, used presumably to form a line for visitors. The hall, however, was abandoned, with only the sound of the two companions' hooves clattering against the marble floor as they neared the entrance.

Behind the booth sat an elderly nag, her face drooping with many years, but her eyes shining with the exuberance of youth. "Hello!" she greeted them enthusiastically, "Welcome to the Royal Canterlot Museum of Music, how may I help you today?"

"Two tickets for the tour please." Octavia stated politely.

"Alrighty then," she said punching the slender keys on her rather antiquated cash-register. "Will that be all?"

"Yes, madam."

She pulled the wooden lever on the side of the great machine, causing a spiraling and whizzing sound to be heard, then the clang of a small bell. "That will be twenty-six bits – thirteen each."

"Here you are." Octavia handed her the respective denominations. With another twist of the lever and a ding, two tickets emerged from a slot underneath the booth; their pressed paper thick and and sharp, bearing the words "One Admission Only".

"The tour guide should be here any moment now. We're currently under-staffed here so the tours aren't always as speedy as we'd like them to be."

"You don't say?" Vinyl chimed in.

"I do say! Ever since the curator here quit, we've been having trouble keeping this place a-float."

"Why did he quit?" Octavia asked.

"He said something about how it was ethically wrong to charge people to listen to music, and how he said he was going to follow his boyhood dream and become a pirate." The old nag chuckled a bitter laugh to herself before resuming a serious expression. "He tried to steal music from his own museum, but accidentally caught a curtain on fire when he went to smoke, and was subsequently arrested for arson. He paid the bail and tried again but this time, he forgot the password to his own safe that stored his musical collection, which tripped an alarm. He would have escaped, but he was so frightened that he had to relieve himself, and when the police arrived, they arrested him for indecent exposure. Not one to be easily discouraged, he tried yet again by pole-vaulting onto the roof and sliding down one of the chimneys, but he miscalculated the width of the chute, and he got stuck, so the police had to fish him out. When they did, he was covered in soot and grime – a sight for sore eyes, he was. They arrested him a third time for chimney-sweeping without a permit, which of course made his third-strike. Last I heard he was doing hard-time at Foalsome Prison." Suddenly, with an unwarranted burst of enthusiasm, she exclaimed: "Any-hooves! It seems your tour guide has just arrived."

Vinyl and Octavia looked to see a azure pony with a cornflower-blue mane approaching them from across the room. She swaggered with a confident air of self-assurance, her pace quick and precise. "Morning Trixie!" the old nag greeted her.

"Morning Susan." she mumbled back indifferently, yawning.

The old nag turned to Vinyl and Octavia, "This is Trixie. She'll be your tour-guide today."

"Wait..." Octavia said pondering, "I know you! You're the magician!"

"We seem to be running into a lot of your old acquaintances today," Vinyl said nudging her.

"She's not one of my acquaintances." Octavia said.

"I'll have you know," Trixie interrupted, "performing magic is behind me. I decided to pursue my true passion: acting! I'm just taking a part-time job here to make ends-meat until my acting career takes off."

"How's that been coming along?" Vinyl asked.

"Uh..." the blue pony's cheeks turned a bright red, "Let's just say I won't be leaving anytime soon."

"Well!" the old nag proclaimed, "You three already seem to be on the right hoof with this. Why don't you go on inside?"

"Good idea." Octavia said looking up at the position of the sun, "We should go now so I can have time to prepare for the concert tonight."

"Okay then, you two have fun. And Trixie, mind yourself now, I know you can do it!" the old nag chastened stifling giggles.

"Yes ma'am." Trixie said forcing a smile, as she lead the two friends into the museum. When she was sure she was out of ear-shot of the old nag, the blue pony turned to them. "That crazy old bat thinks because I'm new I can't handle it. She has no idea how much of a favor I'm doing them by working here."

"Do you enjoy your job?" Vinyl asked.

The blue pony stopped in her tracks and turned her towards her, a smile of insincere satisfaction gleaming on her lips."Suuuure." she quipped facetiously, "I just love showing people around these ancient relics, being paid minimum wage, and having to be here at seven every morning."

"Uh...it's one." Octavia said pointing to her watch.

"Regardless!" Trixie said moving on. "They don't appreciate me here and certainly don't believe in my capabilities."

"That old-pony at the counter seems to believe in you." Vinyl said.

"Why wouldn't she? She's my mom." Trixie stated plainly.

"Oh!" said Vinyl and Octavia in unison as they nodded their heads in a new revelation.

"What about the old museum curator?" Octavia asked curiously.

"Oh, dad...yeah, he's nuts. This museum, I suppose, will be mine one day, but this is a temp job, nonetheless. Because I know that any day now a famous producer is going to walk through those doors and say 'Trixie, darling, I saw your audition and was absolutely thrilled! Come with me!' Then I shall be whisked away to some studio where I shall play the lead as a seductive damsel. That will my big break-through and then I'll get to see my name in lights!"

Vinyl cleared her throat. "I can definitely see you playing a dramatic part."

"Yes, well, I am quite the actress."

Over the next few hours, Trixie toured them through the enormous expanse of the museum. They traveled the length of the vast corridors of old instruments, priceless artifacts, and exhibits of personal possessions belonging to famous pony composers and librettists. They passed through the museum's collections of trombones and tubas, saxophones and flutes. They saw the famous teeth of Beau Rosin, and the diary of Sharp Clef – both well-known and highly respected musicians.

Vinyl, who earlier had contemplated staying in bed, was utterly enthralled with all the sights that passed by her. Octavia was too, to a large extent, because in her mind, it was like being a marvelous temple; one dedicated to her life's passion, and she looked on it with the same reverence and awe as the first time she had when she was a little filly on that second-grade field-trip those many years ago. Trixie, for her part, never lingered or meandered over any particular sight for too long. She kept the facts hard and straight in an attempt to keep their attention while she paraded them through the nearly endless labyrinth of displays.

After a couple hours of browsing and explanations, however, the group came to the conclusion of their tour and the grand finale. It was the show-piece of the museum, its most treasured possession: a Straddlevarius Violin. It was one of only two Straddlevarius violins that existed in the entire world. This particular one had been the personal property of Johann Sebastian Buck, renowned composer and organist, who had received it as a gift from Antonio Straddlevari. The quality of these violins was unmatched by any other. Their beautiful texture and craftsmanship, as well as their superb sound, made them jewels that beset the crown of the museum's treasures.

Needless to say, the Straddlevarius was encased inside a secure stone room, a little distance apart from the museum's main corridors. Inside the small, mausoleum-like structure, was a marble pedestal on which the instrument lay, surrounded by nearly indestructible glass. As a whole, the instrument was plain and unadorned; so much so, that if you looked at any other violin, you probably couldn't tell the difference between the two in physical appearance. It was the sound though, and the sound alone, that set the instrument inside the glass apart from any other in the world.

Trixie sighed a bit of relief as she finished up her tour presentation and allowed the two friends to view the instrument. "Wow" Vinyl said, "Do you think they ever let anypony play that?"

"Certainly not!" Octavia rebuffed her. "Far too priceless a thing to be played."

"Actually," Trixie interrupted them, "I hate to contradict, but we do take it out annually to be played."

"Oh, I didn't know that." Octavia said less boldly.

"Instruments are made for playing, right?" Vinyl said.

"I guess so." Octavia said staring at it, "It would be quite the honor to the musician allowed to play it."

"We had a professional violinist," Trixie said, "Who we use to let do it. He was a good friend of our family. He passed on a year ago and we've been looking for a replacement player since."

"That sounds interesting," Octavia said, "However, I play the cello myself, and not the violin, so it wouldn't really be my forte."

"Forte." Vinyl snorted, chuckling to herself.

Octavia allowed herself to giggle, "Vinyl, give your puns a 'rest'".

"I would like to triad out." Vinyl retorted.

"No 'strings' attached?"

"Only a fugue."

Trixie rolled her eyes as the two friends cascaded into a back and forth of musical puns, laughing and chortling louder and louder as they exchanged more and more bad one-liners. Finally, she had heard enough. "Alright, well, if you don't need anything else, I'm out of here." By the time she left, the friends were literally rolling on the floor, tears streaming from their eyes.

"Ha ha!" Vinyl exclaimed, "I don't think I've ever laughed this hard."

"He, me either." Octavia said.

"Well..." Vinyl said getting up, "All this has left me starved. Let's go and chow down at the food court."

"Sounds like plan." Octavia agreed.


	5. The Cafe

**I'd like to take this time to acknowledge my good friend Haven, who helped me write this. Thank you for your help. **

* * *

The two friends ventured out of the museum the same way they had come, passing back through all the exhibits until they reached the place where they had entered. Behind the booth, the old nag still sat, lazily flipping through a magazine at her desk. When the two exited, she immediately sprang to attention, "Did you two enjoy your tour?"

"Well..." Octavia began.

"We sure did!" Vinyl exclaimed.

"Yeah..." Octavia trailed off.

"Well, that's good to hear. I hope Trixie wasn't too much to handle."

"No, she was fine." Octavia said, "I really hope her acting career works out."

The old nag rolled her eyes. "I hope it does too. Finally get her out of the house. At any rate, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed yourselves. Hope you come back again soon."

"Oh we will." Octavia assured her.

"Bye!" the old nag exclaimed as they trotted away.

"Bye." the two called back as they pulled the latched door and exited into the corridor beyond.

The piazza that lay in front of the museum was called 'Modesty Square'; a designation quite contradictory in nature, for it was a cobbled area of immense length and breadth that stretched for several hundred meters in both directions; making it anything but 'modest'.

All around it's great breadth lay stores, shops, bakeries, confectionery booths, blacksmith's forgeries, repair outlets, clothing stores, novelty vendors, styling boutiques, perfume retailers, cafes and restaurants of every sort and variety. Indeed, apart from the looming presence of the Royal Palace, which lay just beyond it, one might have said that this was the most important place in city – or at least it was for the common ponies who transacted most of their business there. And it was not without good reason that many people also considered it the heart of the capital.

While the museum that covered its northern face might not have been a hive of activity, the area located immediately in front of it was. Ponies went this way and that way; crowds of onlookers gathered to see street-performers doing exotic tricks, while others chatted under the shade of the parasol tables that were located around the city fountain. It was in the midst of all this that Vinyl and Octavia found themselves as they trotted around the square's vast distance, looking for a place to eat. After much indecision and a compromise, they finally decided on a small sidewalk-cafe in a secluded corner alley, away from the noisy crowds.

Around the sides of the brick passageway were large trellises where leafy vines and flowers grew to form a shady corridor from the opening of the alley to the serving area beyond, which was nothing more than a small stand with a few cooking pots and kettles. At the counter was a young waiter with a bright-red mane and a lackluster yellow coat and a cup of coffee as his cutie-mark. He energetically wiped the counter with a cloth, polishing it thoroughly why he whistled an old tune.

"Ah! Two ladies approach on this fine day. Would you care to take a seat?" The cafe was largely abandoned, except a few scattered ponies sitting here and there. Vinyl and Octavia sat down at a table near the railing that separated the raised terrace from the side-walk beyond. As they seated themselves, a kettle whistled out on the stove. "Oops! Lemme get that, I'll be with you in just a second." he said, and raced to attend to it.

The two friends began to casually read over the menus that lay on the table. There wasn't much in the way of selection, some basic entrees, but not many. "What are you getting?" Octavia asked.

Vinyl scratched her mane thoughtfully. "I dunno... Everything's so small." She put her menu down and lifted her hooves, measuring a couple of inches between them.

Octavia stared at her. "Nervous?" she asked, her curiosity peaked.

"Nope!" Vinyl grinned. "Are you?"

"No...just..." she gazed back at the yellow colt attending the stove. "What do you think of him?" She motioned with her head, trying not to draw attention.

"Nothin' really. Why? You got a crush on him or something?" Vinyl teased, grinning even more and wiggling her eyebrows.

"Well..." Octavia grinned, blushing, "he is quite handsome. Sure he's not perfect but...there's something about him that I find attractive. So cheery and polite."

Vinyl looked over at him. "He's okay, I guess."

The yellow colt, as if on queue, approached the table. Octavia suddenly ducked her head under the menu so as not make eye-contact. "Sorry about that, had to keep the tea from burning. What can I get for you two today?"

Vinyl looked back at the menu. "I'll have, uh... a couple of blueberry muffins and a cappuccino." She looked at Octavia, waiting.

"Alright" he said marking it down in a little booklet. "And you, Miss?"

"I'll have a light salad, no dressing please and a water." she said, not taking the menu from her face, an obvious anxiety in her voice.

"Got it. Be ready in about ten minutes." With that he trotted back to his post and began eagerly fixing the ordered meal.

"What, are you dieting?" Vinyl snorted.

Octavia scowled. "It's not my fault you get to eat whatever you want and never gain a pound, whereas the least bit of sugar makes me bloat like a puffer fish."

"Well sor-ry! What's got your panties in a bunch all of a sudden?"

"Nothing. I guess I'm just nervous about the upcoming recital. I've been working so hard for it and I guess I'm just mentally preparing myself for what's to come. My biggest fear is I'm going to goof in front of the entire royal court and be laughed at." she cringed, "That would be the worst possible thing."

"Oh, that's not gonna happen." Vinyl waved her hoof. "You play awesomely."

Octavia smiled a bit. "Thanks Vinyl, I'm glad you'll be there. I know I can always count on you." It was then that a couple came walking into the cafe. The first one, the husband, was a middle-aged colt with a thinning mane and rather prominent bald spot on the top of his hand. The second, his wife, was a large mare with with long blonde hair and a masculine set of legs. At her side was a small foal, no older than two or three years of age, who lay in a carriage, wrapped in swaddling clothes.

The yellow colt, still behind the stove, saw them enter. "Take a seat anywhere!" he called, "I'll be right with you." With that the two sat down at a table a little piece away from where the two friends sat.

Vinyl looked over at them for a moment before turning back around. "I wonder who they are..."

"I don't know..." Octavia remarked. It was clear to both of them though that neither of them were happy. The husband came in with a blank expression on his face and his wife was no better, she carried an annoyed grimace, rolling her eyes and making quick, sharp remarks whenever the husband asked her anything, rather than a plainly answering.

"Quite the couple, aren't they?" Octavia said smirking at the pair.

"Psh, yeah..." Vinyl answered sarcastically.

A few minutes later the yellow colt reemerged from the cooking area with the food. "Here you are, cappuccino and some blue-berry muffins, and a salad without any dressing with water. Bon appetite!" he said as he departed, but Octavia stopped him before he could take another step.

"Excuse me, sir, what is your name?"

"Joseph! But most people call me Joe."

"And do you work this Cafe all by yourself?"

"No, normally my parents run things here, but they're on their second honey-moon, so I'm just filling in while they're gone. Now if you'll excuse, I got customers to attend to." He left her, heading over to where the couple sat to take their order.

"By the way you're acting, it won't be long before you and him are your second honey-moon." Vinyl said teasingly.

"He certainly does have his priorities in order." Octavia said, "Dependable, loyal, helpful. What more could you ask in a pony?"

"That you actually know him for a few days or something!" Vinyl exclaimed.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Octavia replied eagerly taking a few bites into her salad.

"Yeah." Vinyl mumbled before cramming a whole muffin in her mouth. Octavia stared at her. "What!?" Vinyl said with bits of saliva and muffin flying everywhere "I'm starving!"

"Alright..." Octavia said as she presumed eating her salad.

In a few moments Joe had finished taking the couple's order and returned to the 'kitchen' behind the counter. It wasn't long though before the two started to bicker.

"Babe," the husband began, "What are you having?"

"I'm going to have the Reuben," she stated precisely, "Why?"

Not taking his eyes off the menu, he stared at it intently, a perplexed look emerging upon his face.

She asks a second time, now slightly frustrated, "Why?"

"I'm not sure what to get," he said putting the menu down, "What do you think I should order?"

"I don't know," she said, visibly more annoyed, "What do you like? I can't read your mind."

"Oh?" he said raising an eye-brow "I thought you could." He did a smirking chortle under his breath at the remark.

The wife clenched teeth in a dagger-like smile. "In that case, I'll have the most expensive thing on the menu!"

The smirk instantly dropped from the husband's face. "Babe," he began, "I was kidding."

"Uh-huh, can you make up your mind?"

"I can't!"

The arguing continued, the turmoil gaining more vitriol with each new exchange. In the mean-time, the small foal, who sat unnoticed in his carriage next to the table, began to cry.

"Uh-oh." Vinyl said, "That's not good."

"Ignore it." Octavia commanded, "They're bound to notice it eventually."

"They don't look like it," Vinyl replied.

"Well, it's not our problem, is it?"

Vinyl shook her head. "I gotta do something."

"I wouldn't." Octavia warned, "They look like they're in no mood for shenanigans."

Vinyl looked around trying to find something she could use – an excuse, an object, anything – to help the child. At last it appeared. Behind the counter, located near a shelf, was a case; but not just any case – a violin case. Vinyl trotted to the counter where Joe was preparing sandwiches. "Uh, excuse me, does that case have a violin inside?"

"Why, yes. It does. It's my brother Fred's violin. He's gone off to the university now, but we still keep it around, because he use to play it so often and it reminds us of him."

"You mind if I borrow it?" she asked.

"Sure." He pulled down the case from the shelf and undoing the latches, "You play?"

"A little," she said pulling the instrument out. She delicately plucked it's strings, judging it by ear, making small adjustments to get it back in tune. She tightened the bow which had already been rosined and proceeded to where the small child lay crying.

At first, Octavia couldn't believe her eyes. She saw her best friend, the one who was only interested in partying, dub-step, and being a DJ, stepping out into the middle of a cafe with a violin her hooves. Did she really think she could play a violin? What was she up to?

She trotted straight up to the distressed child and assumed the position, her chin resting firmly on the base and the bow tightly in her hoof. The parents, still arguing, hadn't even noticed her approach and were still entirely oblivious to her presence, but Octavia wasn't.

"She's really gonna do it!" Octavia said to herself She mentally braced herself for what was to happen next: a disaster of epic proportions.

When Vinyl brought the bow down upon the strings, a sound was made. Not a screechy, high pitched noise as Octavia had anticipated, but as a simple and melodic note that drifted effortlessly through the air. It caught the foal's attention who immediately stopped crying. His eyes suddenly locked with fascination on the white pony that stood in the middle of the side-walk cafe producing such a delightful resonance.

She didn't stop. Instead, she continued, progressing into a melody – slow and gradual with a calm and soothing countenance. It rang out clear and true, causing even the parents to momentarily stop their arguing and watch her play. Octavia watched too – her mouth agape and her eyes fixed on Vinyl. Was this her roommate? Was this even her? She couldn't tell. It was as if the friend she thought she had knew a few moments earlier had suddenly been taken into the sky and replaced with an alien that she didn't even know anymore.

It was in short time that a crowd started to gather around the cafe. People crowded the alley, wanting to get a glimpse of the performer. Despite this, Vinyl continued to play undaunted, oblivious to the entire world around her. She played with all the passion of a virtuoso, her movements controlled and professional, her eyes closed – as if were taking a pulse and transferring it to music.

When she finished, the entire crowd burst into cheers and applause. Vinyl, who had not noticed them, was caught entirely off-guard. She blushed and gave a small curtsey as the clapping continued. Suddenly, from their midst, a voice was heard above them all. "My, my that was impressive." A collective gasp was given and every pony moved to one side to reveal the speaker, who was none other than Princess Celestia herself.

Both Vinyl and Octavia staggered. Why was the princess here? Was it normal for her to be here amongst the commoners? "Your playing was quite exquisite." The princess continued, "Actually, the best I've heard in ages."

"Y-you really mean that?" Vinyl said, almost unable to articulate her words.

"Absolutely." The princess said. "You play from the heart, which makes the most beautiful type of music. As I reward, I'll give you one wish."

"Well..." Vinyl said scratching her chin, "There was this really awesome 'Straddlevarius' that I saw earlier today that I wanted to try."

"Done. You shall play it as the lead for me tonight at the recital."

Octavia suddenly sprang from her table. "But princess!"

"Oh, you're...Octavia, yes?"

"That's correct ma'am." Octavia said looking down.

"How many I help you?"

"Princess...I was suppose to play the lead at the recital tonight!"

The princess smiled. "And you still will be, you'll just be playing second now instead. Is that okay?"

Octavia was at a loss of words. It was as if everything she had looked forward to this past six months had just gone up in flames in front of her. She could feel hot indignation welling up. She had just been betrayed and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. "Yes." she finally replied in a small voice, "It's fine."

"Good! Then it's settled! Now if you'll excuse me dear, I want to take your friend back to the palace to show her around. I look forward to seeing you again this evening. Goodbye."

The princess turned to leave, but Vinyl didn't budge. She went up to Octavia, who stood motionlessly next to the rail. "See ya, Tavi."

"Farewell." Octavia said, holding back tears.

"Awe, don't cry." Vinyl pouted.

Octavia stood there, her voice-cracking as she spoke. "How...could you?"

"I... I didn't mean to!" Vinyl said, flustered.

"Just..." she shook her head, tears racing down her cheeks, "Just go."

Vinyl sighed. "I'm sorry..." She turned away to leave, looking back at her friend. "I really am." With that, she departed, leaving only the broken Octavia behind at the cafe – alone.


	6. A Chance Encounter

Octavia raced from the café as fast as her legs would allow her. Tears blurred her vision as she ran down the cobbled streets, turning people and buildings into streaks of indiscernible light as she raced by them. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew why: she needed a refuge; somewhere, anywhere, it didn't matter; just some place where she could gather herself together.

After bumping into multiple people and nearly knocking over an ice-cream cart, she found that refuge. It was a brick restroom complex in the middle of a local park. Not ideal, by far, but it would have to do. She bolted inside the ladies' room and locked the door behind her, and for a good ten minutes, she sat on the toilet, bawling her eyes.

She let loose all her anger and frustration in one spasm of unrestrained emotion in the solitude of the lavatory. When her choking sobs made it hard to breath and she felt she could cry no more, she finally tried to pull herself together. Staggering here and there, she regained a little composure, as she started to piece together what had just happened and what she could do about it. This train of thought was soon foiled though, by he burning image of Vinyl playing the violin in the middle of the cafe. With each turn of the bow, she saw, as her dreams were crushed before her, and fell into a fit of tears, yet again.

After another long lapse, she took in a deep breath and blew her nose into her handkerchief. "This is the second time I've cried today," she said sinking her head in her lap. "I don't normally cry, because it isn't normal to cry. In a perfect world there would be no tears. In a perfect world, we'd all care for one another." She sniffled, wiping her eyes once again, "Oh, why does nobody care?"

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Occupied," she squeaked out, her voice-cracking.

A concerned voice answered back. "Miss, is that you? Are you alright?" She recognized it immediately. It was the waiter from the café: Joe.

"Did he follow me all way here?" she said under her breath.

"Miss?"

"No, I'm not alright!" she shouted in protest at the world. "I'm not alright at all!"

"I'm sorry." he said softly. "I saw you run away crying. I know it's none of my business and all, me being a complete nobody, but I guess what I'm trying to say is: why don't you come out and talk about it?"

For a moment, she was stunned. All at once, from the darkness of the abyss, there seemed to be a light shining; a single, solitary flicker, slowly descending from the heavens above, like some radial beacon of hope. Here was a stranger, an absolute stranger, who not a half-hour earlier she had been eying from across a café table, suddenly coming to her and asking her about how she felt. And for a moment, a single, solitary moment, Octavia's heart filled with gladness.

Octavia's stomach churned with butterflies as she slowly lifted herself from the toilet and made her way to the exit. All that stood between her and what lay beyond was the door in front her. She held her breath as her hooves slowly turned the lock and pushed the door open.

There he stood, his stained apron tied around him and his hat still firmly perched on his head; yet, despite his humble appearance, there was a glow of sympathy burning like a fire deep within his green eyes. She lost control of her senses and flung herself upon him, wrapping her arms tightly around his chest. She wept into his shoulder– not out of grief, but joy. Joy that somebody cared at last.

"There, there." he said holding her, "It'll be alright."

She looked up at him and smiled, her eyes red and puffy with streaks of mascara running down her cheeks. "I know," she said softly.

Over the next half-hour, Octavia confided in Joe all that happened that day. She told of him of what she had come for, and the part she was supposed to play in the recital that evening. She told him of the bus-driver and how she and Vinyl had gotten trapped out in the Great Paradise Desert and how they escaped only by two brothers who rescued them on a flying-machine; and at the last, she told him about what Vinyl had done and why it had upset her so deeply.

"Well…" he began. "You certainly have had quite the day, it seems."

"Oh, it's been awful, just awful," Octavia groaned. "And I just don't know what to do anymore."

"Hmm," Joe scratched his chin, contemplating. "There may be a way to resolve this."

"How?" Octavia asked hopefully, looking up at him.

" All of this was just a misunderstanding between you and your friend right? Well, I could wheel you in under the the Royal Palace security in one of my serving carts. I'm a regular there, so the guards never examine me. Then, you could use a tour-guide's uniform to slip in, undetected, to find your friend and sort this whole thing out."

"That's a crazy idea. It could never work..."

"You never know," he said shrugging.

She sighed in defeat. "Alright, but where am I going to get a tour-guide's uniform?"

"Didn't you say that blue pony hated her job?"

The serving cart bumped and bounced as it was pushed through the streets. Joe, dressed in his regular attire, guided it along. His demeanor cool and collected; a facade he hoped wouldn't draw any suspicion to himself as he ferried his hidden cargo to her destination. He whispered beneath the white-cloth that veiled their conspiracy as he continued on to the palace gates.

"You ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Octavia answered back.

"Good, just don't make a sound. I know these people, so I should be able to talk my way through."

"Alright," she said.

"You got everything in order?"

"Yes, but I couldn't find Trixie in the museum. I don't think she would have let me borrow her uniform anyway. But I went back and I saw it lying there, and.. "

"And?"

"I stole it! Happy?"

"You got to do, what you got to do," he shrugged.

Octavia sighed. "You sure this is going to work?"

"It will, so long as you keep quiet."

It was then they approached the moat around the palace, where the bridge lay retracted inside the gatehouse. Above the ramparts, a lone sentry eyed the peculiar yellow pony wheeling the cart.

"Who goes there?" the sentry called.

"It's me!" Joe answered back.

"Me who? What's your name?"

It was then that another guard, one Joe recognized, came to investigate the commotion. "What's all the racket?" he inquired to the other.

"Somepony wants permission to enter," the first sentry told him.

The second leaned over the battlements to get a better view and yelled in excitement. "Well knock me down, it's old Joe! Come back again, have you, you old rascal!?"

"It's me, Cornelius!" Joe called to him. "Lower the gate!"

"Sure, but what do you have with you there, Joe?" he shouted back.

"Just some food I brought with me here for the Princess. Special order and all that!"

"You wouldn't be planning on sharing that?" he inquired chuckling.

"I'll tell you what; I brought a sirloin, oven-cooked, and coated in mushrooms, with some salted chips, that I was saving for myself. You can have it!"

"You were always a good un' Joe! Alright lads, lower the gate!"

It was then that a massive mechanism inside the battlement gave a distinctive 'clink' and the chains suspending the bridge to the wall started unfurling with a thundering rattle. The huge mass of bolted wood and steel lowered gracefully, entrenching itself firmly on the far bank of the moat with a dull thud. Once it had done so, Joe began to cross slowly. For a moment, though, Joe allowed himself a moment of temporary distraction as he gazed up at the massive structures of stone and mortar that loomed over him in a serene dignity – their imposing height and grandeur all but dazzling in the mid-afternoon sun.

When Joe reached the other side, the sentry was waiting for him, along with a few other privates and non-enlisted ranks. His name was Cornelius, the newly appointed Captain of the Guard. He was a burly pony, clad in armor that seemed rather ill-fitted to him. He had a prominent black beard and a connecting mustache, along with some stubble around his side-burns that gave him a rough appearance, but which otherwise betrayed his jovial and good-spirited nature.

"Joe!" he said, bear-hugging him. "It's so good to see you again!"

"It's good to see you too," Joe said, gasping for air.

He laughed, letting him go. "Still good old Joe. How's your mum and dad?"

"They're good, on their second honeymoon at the moment."

"So I heard, so I heard. Why don't you come over to the tavern with me and we'll talk about it over a flagon of brew, like men!"

"Later, I have to wheel this to the Princess first." The captain gave him a serious stare, like a dog who had preformed a trick and hadn't received his treat yet. Joe chuckled, realizing what he wanted. "You were always the shrewd one Cornelius. Alright, just as a promised." From the top of dining cart, precariously close to the top of Octavia's head, he produced the aforementioned steak.

"Ha ha! You never disappoint!" he bellowed. "Well, whenever you're done, meet me in the tavern. We'll have a good laugh or two, just like old times, eh Joe?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," he said smiling, and went on his way. About mid-way across the court-yard, however, he ran into a small crevasse, that caused Octavia to bump her head and grunt a little louder than usual.

While any other pony may have shrugged it off as nothing, Cornelius noticed it instantly. "Hey, wait up a moment!" he said as he chased after him. "You wouldn't be hiding anything would you, Joe?"

"Who, me?" Joe asked, smiling innocently.

"What's under the cart?"

"Nothing." Joe replied coolly.

"Uh-huh. Corporal!"

"Yes Captain!" the guard next to him answered, standing to attention.

"Check it out."

"Yes sir!" He took the blunt end of his rather large pole-ax and shoved it under the cart, jabbing Octavia's ribs. Octavia held in a yelp, as her mind raced at a thousand miles a minute. She couldn't be discovered, not now.

She did one last act of madness to keep from being detected and answered back in a small voice: "Potatoes."

The corporal wrinkled his eye-brow. "It's nothing sir," he replied. "Just a sack of potatoes."

"Ah!" Cornelius nodded. "Never mind then. You can go on your way."

"Much obliged." Joe replied, tipping his hat, and started across the the enclosure, yet again.

As the yellow pony departed, Cornelius turned to the group of on-lookers. "What are you lot doing standing around for!? This isn't a tea party! Get back to your posts!" With his out-burst, the guards quickly scrambled back to the ramparts, tripping over one another as they went.

When Joe reached a small courtyard on the far end of the palace where he was sure no guard could see them, he stopped the cart. "Alright," he whispered, "The coast is clear." Octavia emerged from underneath the cart, dressed in Trixie's uniform.

"That was close." Octavia said, brushing herself off.

"Tell me about it." Joe said nodding. "But now you should be able to travel through the palace unnoticed," he explained."Just keep your head and don't do anything to draw attention to yourself. Just act casual."

Octavia hugged him. "Thanks for all your help. I really appreciate it."

"Sure," he said brushing her off. "When you're done, there's a secret door next to the fire-place in the servant's foyer, it will take you out to a place near the river, where you can sneak away without anyone noticing."

"Alright," she said.

"Good luck," he said, and wheeled the cart inside the two double doors that Octavia presumed went to the kitchen. As the doors shut behind him Octavia suddenly realized that she was alone.

She took a deep breath. "There's nothing to this," she said, looking around for some way to get in. "If only I knew where I was going."

Octavia wandered around the endless plazas and stone corridors of the the palace gardens until at last she found a stair-way that lead from the outside terrace to the inside of the main building.

While inside, she was vigilant, making sure to keep an eye out for guards and personnel. One false step could blow her cover and land her in some serious trouble. It was unspoken of what happened to ponies who entered the Palace without permission, but from the rumors, it was a fate that was worse than death itself.

Octavia gulped as she eyed a long corridor that she happened upon. She listened for noises or signs of people and carefully started treading toward what she assumed was a door.

It was a deafening silence, and it made Octavia uneasy. If there was noise, at least, that meant there were ponies nearby. That way, if she ran into a guard she could bluff her way out and said she had taken a wrong door or had gotten lost. With silence, she knew she was out of place and that she wasn't suppose to be there. The stakes were great, but she had to find Vinyl so she could talk some sense into her. It was the only was she could rectify this situation and regain the prize she had worked so hard.

She wandered aimlessly through the halls and chambers of the vast palace. She would sometimes peak into rooms to get a general sense of where she was at, being always careful to make sure that the rooms she entered were not occupied. This she did for a good half-hour before stopping in a rather elaborately adorned bedroom, somewhere she guessed, near the north tower.

By this point, burdened by the all that had had happened that day, she was exhausted. She eagerly, but gently, lay on the circular bed, being careful not disturb the sheets, and groaned out in frustration. "I'm never going to find her like this," she whispered under her breath.

She closed her eyes for a moment allowed herself to rest her weary head on the soft sheets, thinking over what to do next. Should she continue searching the palace or perhaps feign ignorance to find her way or perhaps yet, reveal herself and try to explain it all? So many options to choose from, and at this point, and they all seemed rather tempting.

As she lay there, basking the fading light of the mid-afternoon sun, she started to hear hoof-steps down the hall. "It's nobody," she yawned, not wanting to be parted from her momentary comfort. "They'll go on."

Soon, though, the hoof-steps started to get louder and the voice, although distant, started to form into a distinctive sound, that she recognized. She suddenly sprang from the bed, keenly aware now of her surroundings. "Surely..." she said listening closer.

She looked around the room she was in, examining it closely. Around the ceiling there were elaborate crown-moldings with interlacing designs of he sun and moon. The windows were lavishly adorned with iron wrought curtains with frill and lace, which betrayed a feminine quality hiding under the front of a room that was obviously intended for someone important.

Octavia pondered again and again until it dawned upon in a horrible instant of epiphany. She came to the awful realization, sitting on the ermine coated bed, that she was in the princess' room.

The steps were heard again, louder now than before, and for a moment, Octavia's heart sank. She couldn't be found here! Sneaking into the palace was bad enough, but going into the princess' personal bedchamber? Her punishment would be severe indeed; banished to an island to do hard labor, or being sent to the dungeon, or being forced to listen to an amateur play the cello without any rest of pain-killers. She had to hide!

She looked around, desperate to find an escape, the dreaded steps echoing ever closer from the hall. "Gotta think! Gotta think!" There was no time to think, unfortunately. She couldn't run for it, so she would have to hide. She spurred as quick as lightning to what she presumed was a closet that lay on the opposite side of the room, farthest from the exit, and gently shut the door, hoping that no one would find her.

Through the small crack in the door, she could see the entire room clearly and was able to witness, moments later, the knob turned a full ninety degrees and the door opened. It was just as she feared: Princess Celesita herself, dawned in full regalia, entered through the door and shut it behind her. Octavia moaned in her mind, silently begging some unseen force to not give her reason to come and open the closet door.

The princess, to her great relief, didn't come near the closet. Instead, she casually strolled to the other side of the room to lay her crown on the white dresser and remove her hoof braces. All the while she was smiling and softly humming to herself as she combed her hair with a gold-plated brush, care-free oblivious to everything else in the world.

"Ah, it's such a wonderful day," the Princess said to herself as she continued to comb. On any other day, Octavia might have agreed with her, but for the moment, she felt the stinging irony of it all as she tried not to make a sound inside the closet.

From out of a nowhere a bell began to ring. "Oh!" the Princess jumped excitedly, "Somepony's calling me!" She skipped gleefully back over to the dresser where a small, white telephone lay. She picked up the receiver and held it up to her ear. "Yes?" An indiscernible voice murmured and crackled over the other end. "Uh-huh, yes. Tell her to come right up, but tell her to do so slowly. Alright, bye." And she hung up the phone.

"The princess was receiving visitors?" Octavia whispered to herself. "That's strange. I didn't know anypony was even allowed to do that."

There was a knock on the door. "Come in!" the Princess said in a melodic voice.

The door opened and in stepped Vinyl. "Hey, Tia."

"Hello Vinyl," the Princess greeted her warmly.

Octavia gasped in delight. This was her chance! Her goal was in sight! All she had to do was snatch it! Sure the Princess might be upset, but there was Vinyl! She couldn't let her escape. She twisted the knob, but the door didn't budge. "Locked?" Octavia said, tugging it. "What kind of closet locks from the inside!" As she tried to open the door, Vinyl and the Princess finished their conversation, and Octavia saw her chances to talk with her slowly begin to fade away.

"Well, I'm glad you stopped by," the Princess said. "But I'm expecting company soon and I need to freshen up for them."

Vinyl smiled, "Whatever you say Princess." And left.

Octavia sighed. "And, there she goes."

"Now to freshen up," the princess said. She gaily trotted back to her bed and reclined in the same spot where Octavia had previously lay. The Princess tucked her hooves under her body and closed her eyes, and afterwards, nothing stirred in the room, not even the Princess. She merely sat there, eyes closed, perched upon her hooves.

"What is she doing?" Octavia wondered. "Is she sleeping?"

Suddenly,there was a massive explosion of flatulence that erupted from the Princess. It came so suddenly and violently that it caused the entire room to shake. The tremors shook items on the shelves and caused them to fall from their places as the furniture kicked and buckled against the floor. The princess groaned and wailed furiously; her eyes bulging out of her head as the purge continued. On and on it went, with no end in sight. It got so bad that Octavia ducked her head between her knees, sure that the roof would collapse on her at any second. But, like an Earthquake subsiding, so too did the gas slowly abate, and with a final toot, the ordeal came to an end.

The Princess, now looking serene and calm upon her bed, took a deep breath and giggled. "My my, I've been holding that one in for two weeks." She took a sniff of air and scrunched her nose. "Better crack a window," she said, and walked over to do so.

Meanwhile, in the closet, Octavia tried to hold in coughs of desperation as the poisonous fumes slowly choked the breath out of her in the stifling closet. After what seemed like an eternity, the Princess finally cracked the window, causing a flood of fresh air to fill the entire room, expelling the noxious vapors. Octavia, shaken and mortified, tried to breath in as much as she could without giving herself away.

As Octavia gathered herself together from the ordeal, there was yet another knock on the door. This time, though, the Princess answered it herself. "Ah, so good to see you again, my faithful student. Please come in." Octavia eyed through the slit and saw a purple unicorn enter.

"You called me, Princess?" The unicorn asked.

"I did indeed." The Princess began. "You've come a long way, Twilight, since you first began your magic studies, but now I think it's time we took them...to the next level."

"Are you sure...I'm ready?" she asked, a little unsure of herself.

"Of course," the Princess beamed. "But first you have to pass a test."

"What of test?" The unicorn asked nervously, "I may need to study..."

"It's alright," the Princess said moving behind her. "It's not that sort of test."

"Then..." she said, looking up at her, "What kind?"

The Princess smiled coyly, "Close your eyes."

The unicorn obeyed, slowly closing her eyes. "Now what?"

"Now..." The princess leaned in, and for a moment, Octavia's heart stopped. Her sable lips slowly descended on her student's and they seized each other in a passionate kiss. The unicorn's eyes fluttered open for a moment, surprised by the suddenness of it all, before closing again, lulled into submission as she leaned closer and deepened the kiss, moaning softly.

The Princess recoiled and nuzzled her student's neck. "Still unsure you're up to the task?"

Her student gazed up at her mentor and nodded.

"Excellent." The Princess lead the unicorn over to her bed and started to plant a series of small endearment's on her student's neck.

"Just...not so fast, okay?"

"No promises." She whispered back, and they both embraced each other in another tender kiss.

Octavia wanted to look away, she really did. The sight of the two ponies becoming intimate, even in this private setting, distressed her. At the same time though, she found that she couldn't stop herself from looking. She gazed on, with a perverse delight, as the two ponies continued to manifest their lustful desires in one another. It was a sight that was both horrifying and delightful at the same time, for she never would have guessed, not in a million years, that this is what the Princess did in her private life.

After a few moments of a wanton affection, they broke their kiss.. "Now," the Princess said between breaths, "Now...you'll learn...more."

"I'm ready," the student said confidently.

"Good girl," the Princess cooed and then maneuvered herself on her bed to where she was on all fours, looking deep into her student's eyes. "Ready?"

"Yes," he student smiled.

"I want you to spank me."

"What!?" both Octavia and Twilight said at the same time.

"Are you sure about this Princess?" The student asked, gaining a bit of her unsureness from before.

"Mmmm, yes." The Princess said. "Nothing would please me more. Now go on. Spank me."

The student nervously positioned herself behind the Princess. She bit the bottom of her lip as she slowly brought her hoof up and then swung it down on her majesty's flank with a loud 'crack'. The Princesses' eyes rolled back into her head. "Oh yeeeeees," she said, consumed in ecstasy. "Again!" she commanded, and again the student did so. "Don't stop, keep going!" Soon the student picked up the pace. The Princess, lost in euphoria, screamed with pleasure, while yelling and shouting explicit profanities between blows.

"Call me a bad girl!" The Princess moaned.

"You've been a very bad girl," the student leered and continued her relentless onslaught.

That perverse delight that Octavia had felt just moments earlier quickly vanished and was replaced by a rising feeling of vomit in the back of her mouth. She couldn't take anymore. Everything she had ever known as true had suddenly been taken and thrown out a window and then beaten with a rusty bat. She felt trapped. There was nothing she could do but close her eyes, but the shouts of the Princess still penetrated her ears. She just wanted this misery to stop.

At last though, the screams died and the spanking came to an end. The Princess was breathing heavily, her face flushed and her hair disheveled, laying prostrate on the bed. "Twilight..." she said breathing, "In the closet, there's a riding crop. Be a dear and fetch it for me."

Octavia's eyes suddenly shot open as she heard the purple unicorn turn and start for the closet. Though, for a brief moment, time came to a complete still and she turned to see what was inside the closet. All around were pieces of leather apparel and torture devices of every sort and nature, and even a medieval rack hid away in the corner. This was no closet! It was a dungeon where the Princess enacted her sick fantasies!

As soon as the purple unicorn twisted the knob, it was like a train ran her over. Octavia raced from the closet so fast that the Princess, who was keen and alert, didn't even have time to see as she bolted out the door into the hallway, racing through the palace at break-neck speed yelling :"No! No! No!" She sped past guards and staff without hesitation. So frantic to escape this nightmare, that onlookers only saw a grayish blur before she was gone.

At last she reached the haven of the servant's foyer. She tossed of her uniform and pushed in the fireplace stone that revealed the hidden passage that lead to the river. She dashed in without a moment's hesitation and shut the door behind her, running through the dark and squalor of what seemed like an abandoned wine-cellar, not looking once behind her.


End file.
